McCall's Road to the Altar
by BrassCupcake76
Summary: A different ending for "Street Wise," written from Dee Dee's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

**McCall's Road to the Altar**

_Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to "Hunter" nor am I affiliated with the show in any way. I'm just a fan, and this is meant to be a fan fiction writing exercise. Some situations are based on actual scenes from the episode "Street Wise", with some changes and additions of my own! I give full credit to Steven J. Cannell, Frank Lupo and anyone else who has the rights to "Hunter" for the creation of the series and the original Street Wise episodes. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just a fan, unleashing her creativity. _

**Summary: ** A different ending for "Street Wise," written from Dee Dee's point of view.

**Rating:** T (this is a rating for the entire story, some chapters I'd consider a K, but I'm giving it a T overall)

**A/N:** This is my first ever fan fiction writing experience. I am not a writer by trade, just a fan of Hunter & McCall. I welcome any feedback; I just ask that you be kind! :) I hope you enjoy the story! (I will be publishing in chapters, as they are completed)

**PROLOGUE:**

McCall's been acting a little strange lately, and it's affecting her at work. She's losing focus, and Hunter has noticed. All of a sudden this guy Alex shows up, again, and it's like McCall suddenly goes off the deep end. Hunter's not happy with the situation and decides that he's going to pay Alex a little visit at the St. Claire Hotel, where he's been staying. Hunter approaches Alex's room and knocks on the door.

**CHAPTER 1**

"Sgt. Hunter" Alex said as he opened the door. Without an invitation to come in, Hunter barged into Alex's hotel room.

"Were, uh, you going somewhere, Alex?" Hunter asked, looking Alex's half-packed suitcase on the bed.

"Yeah, I'm going to London. What can I do for you?"

"I'll get right to the point. I want you to back off McCall" Hunter demanded.

Alex looks at Rick, wondering just who the hell does he think he is, barging in like this and getting involved in his relationship. "Yeah, uh, with all due respect, Sgt. Hunter, what happens between me and Dee Dee is really none of your business."

"It IS my business, Alex! I'm a police officer; McCall is my partner. I'm working on something very, very important. I need her. You're screwing her up. BACK OFF!"

"You're out of line here!" Alex yelled as Hunter headed for the door. "I love her."

Hunter turned back around to look at Alex. "Yeah well, so do I! Back off!" Hunter points to Alex's suitcase, "That's a good idea." And he walked out of the room slamming the door behind him.

A moment of rage flowed through Alex and he picked up his open, half-packed suitcase and threw it off the bed. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

'What does he mean, so do I?' Alex thought to himself angrily.

**DEE DEE's POV**

I decided that I was going to spend a quiet Friday night at home. Between Alex going off to London for a few days and the fact that my arm was still a little sore from being knocked down earlier, I thought I'd curl up on the couch with a book and a glass of wine. Alex and I had said our goodbye's earlier and his flight was at 9pm. He wouldn't be back until mid-week next week, and I needed a little down time to relax and collect my thoughts.

Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. I looked over at the clock. 7:15pm. I wasn't expecting anyone. I got up and looked through the peep hole to see who it was.

"Alex? Aren't you supposed to be almost on your way to London? Shouldn't you be at the airport?" I asked while opening the door, confused as to why he was standing at my door right now.

"Yeah, I was on my way to the airport, but I had to stop by first to talk to you." He said as he brushed past me and into my living room. The look on his face and his hasty movements told me that he wasn't stopping by for one last kiss for the road. Something was wrong and somehow I knew that this conversation wasn't going to go too well.

"Your buddy, Sgt Hunter, paid me a little visit to my hotel earlier today." Alex started off the conversation.

"Oh yeah? What did he want...?" I asked, not overly concerned, yet…

"You tell me that nothing's going on between you two, but ol' Ricky boy comes bursting into my hotel room telling me that he loves you!" Alex yelled. "What's going on here Dee Dee?"

Confused, I looked at Alex, "what are you talking about? There's nothing 'going on' here, Alex. Rick and I have been partners and friends for six years now. Of course we care for each other; it's part of the job," I explained, even though I still wasn't really sure what was going on and why Hunter had even gone there in the first place.

With his voice taking on an increasingly nastier tone, he continued, "part of the job? Is it also "part of the job" to fall in love with your partner?"

"What? Alex, he's not 'in love' with me. Will you please stop this? You're acting crazy." I pleaded as my mind was scrambling wondering what exactly went down in that hotel room. Hunter didn't mention that he was going to see Alex...

"Am I, Dee Dee? Am I crazy? You weren't there, you didn't see the look on his face when he told me that he loves you and when told me that it was a good idea for me to leave you alone and go back to London."

Alex turned away, and under his breath he muttered, "this is why women shouldn't become police officers; especially beautiful ones. I guess I shouldn't at all be surprised that he fell for you."

"What did you just say?" I snapped back at him. Was he insulting my profession and my very being as a woman here? I felt my blood start to boil.

"Nothing." He snarled.

"Well, I'm pretty damn sure I heard you, and I can't believe you'd say that! Police work is my life! How dare you say such a thing!."

"Your life? Need I remind you that we are getting married?" he yelled as he got in my face.

"Yeah, and why do I feel like the honeymoon is over already?' I shot back out of frustration. I'm starting to see a side of Alex that I didn't particularly like…

"Listen, I don't need to worry everyday about MY WIFE getting killed out there on the streets of LA! I'd be devastated if something happened to you!" He paused for a minute and lowered his voice. "Look, I think we should strongly consider moving to London. I've been made a very lucrative job offer there. We'd be very happy there."

"London? Alex, you are asking me to give up my entire life here and move to another country! I don't know if I can make that kind of sacrifice. That's a really big move. Everything I know is here; my family, my friends, my career..."

"Rick..." he said as he rolled his eyes at me.

"Yes, Rick too. He's my BEST friend. He's been there for me through so much. With Steve's death, and after what Mariano did to me... he was always by my side. He's very important to me. He's the best friend I've ever had. C'mon, you know that..."

"Best 'friend', huh?" he said sarcastically, insinuating that there was more to this 'friendship' than I was divulging.

"Yes, Alex, a friend, what do you mean? This is crazy talk. Please stop this." I pleaded and reached out for his hand to try to console him, "you know I love you." He wasn't having it. He angrily pulled away from me and turned in the other direction.

'So much for my quiet Friday night…..after this is done, I'll need the whole bottle of wine, never mind a glass' I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes behind his back. I couldn't understand what was happening here.

"Do you? Do you, really?" he asked as he whipped back around, facing again in my direction.

But before I could answer, he blurted out…."I'm sorry, but I gotta know... you two seem awfully chummy….a little _too_ chummy to just be "friends"" he said while making those annoying quotation marks with his fingers, "...did you, or _do_ you ever think about him as more than a 'friend?'"

If looks could kill, I'd be a dead woman right now. 'Ugh, great! Here we go,' I thought as felt my heart begin to race. This was a road that I did _not_ want to go down with him. Not now, not ever.

My close friendship with Rick had always been a sore spot with most of the men I dated, and I hated having to explain the complexities of it to any of them. Hell, I couldn't even define it myself half the time, much less try to explain it to anyone else. There was definitely something between us, but for the most part we just danced around it with our flirtatious banter and our sexual innuendos. We walked a very fine platonic line, except for that one time when in a moment of weakness, we crossed the line of partnership and friendship into a forbidden, unchartered territory. But, since I never really could adequately define our relationship, I settled on "he's my best friend" and tried to leave it at that. But somehow, even if I was dating someone else, Rick was still always the first person I called, whether I was in sheer danger, needed a shoulder to cry on, or if I needed someone to come over and move a heavy piece of furniture. That bothered some men and they wondered why my 'best friend' wasn't a woman. A lot of men felt very threatened by Rick's stronghold in my life. I guess who wouldn't? After all, Rick is a tall, strong, charming and feverishly handsome man, who was always very protective of me, and was always there for me at a moment's notice without question. I guess you could say in some ways that he became the man in my life, and that left a lot of boyfriends feeling very insecure. The same was true with the women he dated, too. He often told me that they were not happy with Rick having such a beautiful female "best friend" and it caused problems for him too. We were always sort of in the same boat when it came to a lot of things, and we always understood what each other was going through. There was an unexplainable bond between us that was like no other bond we ever had with anyone else. I didn't even have that with Steve. I should have expected that Alex would broach this subject eventually; everyone else did. But, I really thought that Alex was different; more secure. Rick never seemed to bother him before.

I heard Alex's voice continue, and it snapped me out of my thoughts. I was inherently bracing myself because somehow I knew what was coming next.

"Better yet, I'll just be blunt here. Did anything ever happen between you two? Did you ever sleep with Rick?"

And there it was; he said it.

Although I expected it, those words still pierced through me like a knife through my heart. Alex had asked me the one question that I was hoping he never would. I felt my face begin to flush. Yes, I had slept with Rick, once, 3 years ago. And, if I am being totally honest with myself, I'd say it was probably the single most beautiful and romantic night of my life – which was quite something since we weren't even "together." It was unplanned, it just happened, and it was wonderful. It was a night that I thought about often. It meant something to me. But, it was in the past. I knew that admitting it wasn't going to do either of us any good; as it would only create more problems. But, I wasn't a liar and didn't want to start off my marriage with a lie. Besides, it's not like I was with Alex at the time or anything so it's not like I did anything wrong. But still, I didn't want to lie to him, and God forbid have him find out that I had. I couldn't take that risk. I shouldn't, right? I thought for a minute about what to say next, but I guess the look on my face and my lack of an emphatic "NO WAY!" spoke volumes.

"Well...judging by your silence, I'll assume that's a yes. Just great! Just what I want to hear!"

I started to get flustered and began fumbling over my words, "Ok, yes... I did. We did. One time. But it was a long, long time ago, and...and... it didn't mean anything." I found myself now reluctantly admitting to it, while trying to downplay the significance of what that night really had meant to me.

"WHAT? Here I am hoping that maybe I am crazy and you'll tell me that nothing ever happened between you two, but there goes that! This is unbelievable!"

"Alex, look, it was _one_ time. We were both pretty lonely and vulnerable at the time, and it just sort of happened."

"Just sort of happened? What, did he just _happen_ fall on top of you, naked? How is that even possible?"

"Look, I'm not gonna get into details about this with you! It was ONCE, and that was it! The next day, I left for Quantico for 6 weeks and when I got back to LA, we went right back to business as usual. We never even spoke about it. Case closed!"

Ok, so that was a little white lie, but I was trying my best to diffuse the situation. I already admitted to the bigger truth, so that's what makes me the better person, right? Or, was I absolutely crazy for doing so? Either way, the fact was... that night had meant everything to me. It replayed like a movie reel in my mind, thousands of times. It had felt so natural...so right. At the time, I hoped it would have been a prelude to something more... but that all ended fast, and we went back to being just partners and friends - although a little lighter on the friendship side of the pendulum. Beneath the surface, our romantic union had created a wrinkle in our friendship and in our partnership and things were never quite the same afterwards. Since we are both so stubborn, neither one of us brought it up, and we dealt with it the only way we knew how – we threw ourselves full force into our work. I forged ahead, trying not to look back, and did what I could to suppress my feelings and remain professional. Despite my best efforts, I never forgot the beautiful night we spent together.

"I can't believe I am hearing this!" Alex screamed and again I was snapped out of my thoughts.

"Alex, look, its ancient history. We both have a past, and it never bothered you before. I'm not bothered by your past, so let's just let this go, okay?"

"I'm not bothered by your past, Dee Dee. I get it, we all have one. The only difference is that mine doesn't hang around still! There's something about Rick Hunter that I don't like and I don't trust. He's after you and I know it!"

"Alex, will you listen to yourself! He's not 'after me.' He's my best friend, my partner; he looks out for me, just like I look out for him! That's how it works. How could you even say that?"

"So how did your 'best friend' take the news of our engagement? You did tell him, didn't you?

"No. I haven't told him yet."

"I see." He said and made a face at me.

"It just has to be right time, ya know?" I hung my head realizing how bad this is beginning to look for me.

"The right time? What is this? What, you have to break it to him _gently_? Do you have to let him down easy or something?"

"Alex, stop. A fellow police officer was just killed this week; one that he was close to. So, it hasn't been the best time, okay? I'll tell him when the time is right. He's got a lot going on right now," I pleaded.

"I don't think you should see him anymore, outside of work. In fact, I don't think he should be at the wedding, either. That is, if there's still going to be one."

"Not at the wedding? What do you mean? He's my best friend, and I want him to stand beside me in place of a Maid of Honor...sort of like a Man of Honor, or a Best Man!"

"Oh that's cute, so I can look back at our wedding pictures, and be like 'Oh, here's my wife, not only did she sleep with the Groom, but the Best Man too! NO!, I don't think so!" Alex shook his head angrily at me. His face was beat red. He was really, really mad at me. I was suddenly second-guessing my 'honesty is always the best policy' motto.

"Alex!" I screamed back after his brash comment.

"Ya' know, London is looking better and better, and I am actually kind of hoping that this UCLA thing doesn't pull through." Alex said as he stormed towards my front door. "I need to go. I have a plane to catch. I'll call you tomorrow, once I land. Goodbye." And out the door he was, without even so much as a kiss goodbye. Suddenly I was on trial here and what was the crime? Being honest? Where's my wine, I thought.

This is crazy. I mean, Alex had nothing to worry about when it came to Rick….. right?

_(continued….)_


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The next morning, after a fairly sleepless night, I called Rick and asked if he could meet me at the Santa Monica pier. He could tell in my voice that I really needed to talk to him, so he agreed to meet me. Whenever I was troubled, I always went to the beach, and Rick knew that. Something about being near the ocean was very soothing to me. I did my best soul searching there.

I found a bench overlooking the water and sat down. Rick pulled up just a few minutes after 1pm, he spotted me and started walking over.

I watched a 'blue jeans and white T-shirt' clad Hunter walk over towards me, complete with his Ray-Ban's on and that oh-so-famous toothpick in his mouth. God, he looked good. He definitely had charisma, and suddenly I realized why any man would be intimidated by him and his presence in my life. His tight Levi's clung nicely to his toned and tanned body, leaving _very_ little to the imagination. Well, let's be real here, I didn't have to imagine anything. 'Been there, done that.' I thought as I smiled and recalled what was probably my greatest sexual conquest, ever.

'UGH, what am I doing? I've got to snap out of this' I thought to myself as I tried to get that sheepish look off of my face. I reminded myself that I am marrying Alex and then I tried to justify my devilish thoughts by saying that a girl can still window shop, as long as she leaves the credit card at home! It's the truth, right? Right!

"Hey." He said as he approached me with that charming smile of his that I loved oh so much and sat down beside me.

"Hey yourself" I replied and smiled back.

"Dr. Hunter, at your service!" he said with a laugh and a smile. He always did have a way of using his humor to soothe me whenever I needed it. God, I loved that about him. I realized at that moment, how much I was really going to miss him.

"What's up? Everything ok? You sounded a little stressed on the phone. And, I know this is 'your spot' so tell me, what's going on?"

I looked at him and smiled faintly. "Yeah, I am ok. I just wanted to talk to you. We've been so busy lately with work, and with Peterson's murder and I wanted to catch up. How are you? Are you doing okay?"

"I'm as good as I can be. We're still trying to find the guy that did this."

"Peterson was a great guy. He will really be missed." I offered a consoling hand and placed it on his thigh.

"Yeah, he sure will be." Hunter paused for a moment and continued, "Now, I know you didn't bring me down here to talk about me or Peterson, so spill it. What's up?" He knew me so well.

"Yeah, you're right. So, yeah...I haven't gotten the chance to ask you, and I wanted to know….what do you think of Alex?" I asked, nervously awaiting his response.

"He seems like a nice enough guy. Decent. Why?"

"Well, you're my best friend, and from a man's perspective, I wanted to know what you think. "On a scale of 1 to 10, what would you give him?"

Rick thought for a second and looked at me, "a 9.5."

"A 9.5? Really? Why not a 10?" the detective in me inquired. I mean, a 9.5 _was_ pretty good, though. Knowing him, I'm surprised he didn't say a 5! He never did like anyone I ever dated.

"Because he's not a cop!" Hunter said with a laugh.

There he goes again; more humor.

"HA-HA" I replied. "Well, listen, there's more…..." I paused before continuing. "Alex asked me to marry him."

"WHAT?" Hunter exclaimed, looking at me in complete shock.

Gee, that didn't sound like the 'congratulations' I was expecting to hear, I thought.

"What did you say?"

"I said yes."

"Wow! When did this happen?"

"A couple of days ago. But with everything else going on, I didn't get the chance to tell you. And…. well, that's not all of it... He asked me to move to London with him. He was made a great job offer there, and they want him to start right away."

"London? Are you serious? What about your life here? What about your job? Your family?" Rick asked.

His heart started racing. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. All he could think of was that he was losing her; the one constant in his life for the last 6 years. She was the one person that ever truly meant something to him, and she was slipping away before his very eyes.

"Well, you know I can't keep this up forever. Police work is not exactly conducive to being a mother, and you know how badly I want a family of my own."

"I know, but it seems like you have to give up an awful lot here ya' know? What about him? What is he giving up? This is all so sudden, too, don't ya' think?"

"Well, it's not _exactly_ sudden_. _It's not like I just met the guy. We've dated on an off for the last 8 years. Ya know, maybe fate brought us back together and the timing is finally right, for both of us." I smiled at the thought.

"8 years? McCall, I never really heard you mention this guy. I hate to say this, but how serious can you be about him if I've never really heard you talk about him?"

"I don't tell you everything. A woman does keep some things to herself, ya know."

As soon as I said the words, I instantly regretted them. I looked at Hunter, and could see that he was hurt by my statement. It wasn't like me to not be open with him about my personal life. After all, we did spend almost every waking moment of our lives together for the last 6 years. Why did I never really mention Alex to him?

"I don't know. I mean, if you're happy, then I am happy for you" he said. I didn't really believe that he meant those words, but offered it up more because it was the right thing to say. "But…."

And now for the "but" I thought.

Rick continued, "….you're dropping your whole life for him. No wonder you haven't been yourself lately. I've been feeling like he's messing with your head and you're losing focus and I was sure to tell him that when I paid him a little visit yesterday."

"Speaking of that... Alex mentioned to me that you stopped by. What was that about? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why, what did Alex say about it? Judging by your tone, it sounds like he was upset" he said with a semi-arrogant laugh.

"Yeah, actually, he was upset; he started going off on me about us, our partnership, our friendship, our history…it was weird, because he had never done that to me before. He also said something about you telling him that you love me."

And there it was; it was out.

Rick cringed a little as she said it. He was foolish to think that Alex wasn't going to repeat what he had said to Dee Dee. But, the truth was, he did love her. As a friend, yes, but lately, it's been more than that for him, and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was _actually_ going to marry this guy! He was losing her and he felt completely helpless.

"I shouldn't even admit this, but he actually freaked out and said that he didn't want me to see you anymore. I told him he was crazy. He'll get over it. He left last night for London for a few days. He'll cool off," I laughed, trying to make light of the situation. I mean, he will get over it, right?

"Are you kidding me?" Hunter snapped back at me.

Oh shit, did I say too much? Obviously, he didn't find my statement humorous at all. After all, I didn't think Alex really _meant_ it. He was just angry and said it in the heat of the moment, I reasoned with myself.

"Don't you see what he's doing here? C'mon Dee Dee, you're a detective! THINK! He's trying to rip you away from everything and everyone that you have here! Look, I don't think you should just step aside here and let some guy take control of your life and who's in it. That's not who you are."

"_Some guy?'_ Rick, he's my fiancé! This is unbelievable! I was going to ask you to stand up for me, as my Man of Honor, but, you're not even happy for me!" In sheer frustration, I threw my arms up in the air and slapped them down hard on my own thighs. Damn, that hurt.

"Dee Dee, this isn't about not being happy for you. He's trying to control you. C'mon, this is not like you. You are the strongest, bravest, most independent woman I know! You're just going to give up everything you've worked you're whole life for, on a moment's notice, and move halfway around the world for this guy? He's been back what, 4 days? Something doesn't seem right here. I don't think he's right for you."

"What do you know about what's 'right' for me? For years, ever since Steve, I've been trying to find happiness again, and I think I've finally found it. You know I want marriage and children. Why are you trying so hard to talk me out of this?"

"Look, I'm not gonna get into it. Now is not the time or the place."

Rick got up and began to walk away from me. He made it about 3 steps before turning around. "Oh, and I change my answer. I'd rate him a 2 and _only_ a 2 because he's a doctor. Otherwise….. " and gave me a thumbs down, and walked away.

"Rick!" I called out, but he didn't even turn around. Instead, he flashed me a goodbye wave over his shoulder and headed back to his car.

And there he goes…. Mr. Non-Confrontational! I picked up the first rock I saw and hurled it into the ocean, with a fastball-like speed that would make even a Dodgers pitcher jealous. "Dammit!" I yelled, and spun around and plopped back down on the bench. "God, I hate him."

I sat there for what seemed like hours, going over it again and again in my head, trying to figure out what it all meant. Why was Hunter acting this way? And why was Alex acting that way?

_(continued….)_


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Since I wasn't getting anywhere with all of these thoughts swirling around in my head I decided that a little retail therapy was in order, and I headed straight for the mall. After all, shopping cures everything, right?

After about 2 hours of setting my credit cards buck wild in the mall like a raging bull, I felt a little better. Sure, I felt great now, look at all the great stuff I bought! But talk to me next month when the bills start coming in! 'Oh, but I am marrying a doctor, remember?' I said to myself sarcastically but with a smile. After all, Alex was half the reason I was upset in the first place, so it was only fair, I reasoned.

Before heading home I grabbed a little comfort food and once I got home I parked myself in sofa-city for the night. This was definitely a greasy cheeseburger and fries kind of a night. Maybe a glass of wine too. Ah hell, maybe a bottle. God knows I needed it! The 2 most important men in my life were driving me absolutely nuts. They were seemingly at odds with each other and I was somehow caught in the middle. I couldn't understand how or why the 2 men I loved most had such an utter disdain for each other. Couldn't they see the same great things about each other that I saw?

I decided that I wasn't going to think about it anymore. I had spent enough time analyzing this situation, and I was getting nowhere. I need a mental break, so I popped "Casablanca" into the VCR and tried to zone out for a while.

About halfway through the movie, my mind started to drift. Despite my best efforts to not think about what happened with Rick earlier, I couldn't help but wander back to the conversation he and I had at the pier. The detective in me was working over-time, trying to look for clues as to what the hell the big mystery was. And by that mystery, I meant, 'why are they both so disapproving of each other's place in my life?' It wasn't before long when I realized that I never did ask Rick – point blank – what he had meant when he told Alex that he loved me. Maybe it meant more than I realized. I had always assumed that he loved me like in a "I love you like a sister" kind of way, but Alex seemed to fly off the handle blowing it up into something more than that...was he right? Was Hunter trying to tell me something?

Now my head was spinning. I played the "Should I? Shouldn't I?" game with myself for about 15 minutes, picking up and hanging up the phone 3 times, further dialing Hunter's number each time, but never completing it. I didn't know what I wanted to say. Finally, I decided that maybe the wine had gotten the best of me and I should just probably call it a night. In this state of mind, I was probably going to make a fool of myself anyway, so thought I better just sleep on it first. Also, I needed some time to figure out exactly what I wanted to say to Hunter.

I tossed and turned for the better part of 3 hours, before resounding to the fact that the only way I was going to get some sleep was to talk to Hunter, right now. Not tomorrow, right now.

It was almost 1:30 in the morning and while I had lost my wine buzz, I somehow found my courage. So, I got out of bed and freshened myself up. I put on my favorite jeans and a cute top, grabbed my keys and my purse and headed out the door. For some reason, I did always put in that 'extra effort' in my appearance whenever I was going to around Hunter, and why should tonight be any different? Somewhere in the back of my mind, I guess thought I was torturing him in a "see what you're missing" kind of way. For all he knew, I could have been out on the town tonight. He didn't need to know that I was home sulking in my cheeseburger, alone, on a Saturday night.

I didn't even bat an eye when I got in my car and looked at the time and saw that it was 1:42am. Besides, Hunter was used to me barging in at all hours of the night whenever I had the urge to talk. And, right now, I needed to talk.

I made the 10 minute drive to Hunter's beach house and pulled up at a few minutes before 2. His green Dodge Monaco was in the driveway, so at least I knew he was home. That was a start. The house was dark, so I assumed that he was sleeping. I sat in my car for a few minutes collecting my thoughts before I got out. I walked up to his house and knocked on the door. I didn't feel the least bit guilty for waking him up.

After about 2 minutes of incessant banging, I saw a light come on and heard Hunter coming down the stairs.

"Who is it?" he yelled out, seemingly annoyed.

"It's McCall! Open up!" He opened the door, bare-chested with only a pair of Levi's on. Oh damn, he looked good. Oh God, that's the second time I said that today...

"Do you know what time it is?" he asked me sarcastically while opening the door.

"I know what time it is! I've been up half the night thinking and I need to talk to you!" I said as I barged into his living room, but not before hitting him in the bicep with my purse.

"Right now? You need to talk 'right now'? Do you ever need to talk during the day? Or just during the middle of the night?" He rubbed his sleepy eyes with one hand and closed the door with the other.

I walked across his living room and hurled my purse on to his couch at warp speed. I was on a roll today; first the rock and now the purse. I meant business and I wanted him to know it.

"I tried to talk to you earlier today, but you walked away from me, remember? So now, I've got you cornered. You can't leave me now!"

He plopped himself down on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table. "Ok, Sgt. What's on your mind?" he asked.

"I figured it out!"

"You figured 'what' out?"

I lightened up a little, and flashed him my trademark look and smile that basically said, 'nice try, but I'm on to you, buddy' and continued, "... why you don't like Alex, and why you're upset over me marrying him!"

"And detective, what did you come up with?" he said as he folded his arms across his chest, bracing himself for this one. "This ought to be good."

"You're upset because you think he's taking me away from you, and you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous." He replied, notably dodging the first part of my opening statement.

"Yeah, you are."

I must have struck a nerve, because the expression on his face changed instantly and it let me know that he was hurt by my accusations. Was I off base with the jealousy part? I thought to myself.

I softened my tone, sat down next to him and carried on. "Look, I'm sorry. I know that you are always looking out for me and you stopped by to see Alex and you told him that you loved me only because you were concerned and just want the best for me, and..."

"Stop right there."

He cut me off before I could say another word and sprung himself off the couch. I looked up at him shaking my head and shrugging my shoulders, confused as to why he cut me off and got up so abruptly.

"I can't have this conversation with you right now. I can't do this. It's late and I need to get some sleep." He said in an attempt to avoid what he felt was the inevitable.

He moved towards the base of the stair case and I got up and grabbed his wrist with a death grip and pulled him around to face me. He was so good at walking when the situation got too heavy, and I wasn't going to let him get away with that. Not this time. He was going to talk to me about this right now, 2am or not.

He looked me dead in the eyes and I could see it all over his face that there was something he wasn't telling me. I was determined to get it out of him, right here, right now.

"Hunter! Don't walk away from me! I want to know what's going on! Talk to me!"

"You really want to do this right now? You really want to know what's going on?" His voice had elevated to just below a yell.

"Yes, Hunter, I do. I wouldn't have come all the way over here if I didn't!"

He realized where this conversation was about to go and part of him wished that he didn't say a word, but it was too late in the game now. Besides, there was the other part of him that figured he was going to lose her one way or the other, so he might as well at least go down with a fight.

"Fine, McCall. You want to know what's going on, well, here it is: I'm sad, I'm angry, I'm hurt, and you're right, I AM jealous. I'm about to watch the best thing to ever to happen to me walk out of my life and there's not a goddamn thing I can do about it! I'm losing my partner, my best friend, AND the woman I love, all in one week! How's that for a shitty week?"

I just stood there in shock. _'What did he just say?_' I thought to myself.

He paused for a moment before continuing, "What do you want me to tell you Dee Dee? Don't marry the guy? Stay here? Stay here with me? Is that what you want to hear?"

I stood there with my mouth open, speechless. There was so much that I wanted to say, but the words just wouldn't come out. I didn't expect to hear what I just heard.

Silence fell over us for a moment, while my head was spinning.

He broke the silence and continued, "oh, and my little 'talk' with Alex... the part about me telling him that I love you... well, now you know what I meant. It's true, I do love you. But, I guess that doesn't matter now..."

I felt my heart begin to race even faster. _Did_ _I just hear what I think I just heard?_

Finally, I was able to speak. "Do you mean... what I _think_ you mean?" I nervously asked as my nose began to get tingly and I could feel tears creeping in. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious, Dee Dee!" he exclaimed. "I love you. And not in a 'how a brother loves a sister' kind of way, either, just to be clear."

He paused for a minute, took a deep breath, and then he took my hands in his. He looked at me with those loving blue eyes of his that could melt even the iciest of hearts.

He softened his voice. "Dee Dee...this isn't exactly how I envisioned telling you this...". I've been wanting to tell you for a while now... I just haven't found the right time. Devane has kept us so busy with work and we've hardly had any down time, and now with Peterson's death… I just never found the time. I thought that I would finally make that dinner I promised you, next weekend, and well... I'm sure you can figure out the rest." He paused for a moment. "I love you, Dee Dee. I'm in love with you, and I always have been. You're all I think about from the time I get up until the time I go to sleep. You're the reason I get up in the morning, because I know when I get to work I will get to see your beautiful face...but, it seems as though I am too late." He paused again for a moment. "There, I said it."

"I don't believe what I am hearing? Are you joking? 'Cause if you're joking, this isn't funny at all!" I nervously blurted out as I felt all of my blood rushing to my face.

I really didn't 'think' he was joking, I just never thought I was going to hear those words come from his mouth and I didn't know what else to say. I felt like I was in some alternate universe. Was this really happening? Deep down I knew I loved him too, but couldn't help but wonder, where was all of this 3 years ago, or even 3 months ago?

"No, I am not joking, Dee Dee, and I'll prove it," and in an instant, his body was up against mine, pinned up against the wall. He started kissing me, passionately. I hesitated for a brief second, but as a surge of electricity ran through my body, I threw caution to the wind and kissed him back, feverishly, just like I had 3 years ago. I felt weak in the knees and I was losing myself in his kiss. It was every bit as good as I remembered it. After several minutes, we broke. "Still think I'm joking?" he murmured, with his lips about an inch away from mine.

He backed away from me and I stood there still leaning up against the wall trying to catch my breath. He had literally taken my breath away. I quickly realized that I never did quite feel that way when Alex kissed me. And then it hit me; ALEX!

"I don't believe this!" I covered my forehead with my left hand, turned and walked a few steps away from Rick. I needed a second to process this. 'Were we…just…_kissing_?' I thought to myself as I felt my stomach tense up. Did he just tell me that he _loves me,_ loves me?

I knew that in the depths of my heart, I loved him too; madly. But I had worked so hard to squash those feelings - once again - when he turned me down 3 months ago after the Stryber case. And not to mention, the little detail of me being engaged to someone else.

I turned around and walked back over to Hunter. "You tell me this NOW? AND you kiss me LIKE THAT? You do all of this NOW, as I am about to marry someone else?"

"Well, in my defense, up until today I had no idea that you were planning to marry the guy. I didn't realize how serious it had gotten between you two so fast. So, forgive me. Besides, you were pretty into it too just then." He said, unnecessarily stating the obvious. He was right; I _was_ into it, and I felt really guilty for it.

I started walking in circles. "Rick, I just don't understand! Three months ago, after all we talked about in Tate's office... We _finally_ talk about _that night_ and I hear for the first time how you really felt about it. I thought that maybe - just maybe - there _was_ something between us. I invited you in for coffee that night... and you said no! I thought you were feeling what I was feeling, but you quickly put a stop to that and in typical Hunter fashion, you ran the other way when things got too emotional! And AGAIN, I had to bury my feelings deep in the back of the closet, just like I did 3 years ago. I can't go through this again, Rick. Make up your mind! What are we doing here?"

"What do you mean, 'again'?" he asked, seemingly surprised at my admission.

"Oh, c'mon! Were you _that _oblivious, Detective? I don't exactly go around sleeping with just anyone, ya' know! Because we never talked about it, it left me feeling like I was just another one of your one night stands. So, I had to bury those feelings, and focus on keeping our relationship strictly professional after that. Or, hadn't you noticed?"

"You weren't a one-night stand. It meant way more than that for me and you know it." He shook his head and turned in the other direction and then turned back around to face me. "This is not exactly an easy situation here, Dee Dee."

"Oh, you're telling me? You're not the one who's engaged to someone else here!" I snapped.

"Aside from that! I'm talking about us! We're partners, we're friends! This is a _very_ big decision here. It's a very big deal. And for years I fought with myself over my feelings for you, because I was afraid to jeopardize what we had because I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. But you know what, I _have_ made up my mind. I know what I want. I want you, all of you. I want to love you, and I'm willing to risk it all here. I realize that my timing sucks, but I had to tell you." He paused for a moment before continuing, "But, since you're leaving now anyway, what does it even matter anymore? I can see that it's too late. You have made it pretty clear that you do not feel the same way, so do me a favor... forget I said anything, okay? Go and marry Alex. He can give you the life that you want. I'm a cop, remember? I gotta go to bed; I have an early morning tomorrow."

"You can't just go to bed? What am I supposed to do now?"

"Dee Dee, I can't tell you what to do. Just follow your heart. Good night. I'll see ya Monday at the station. Lock up behind you."

And just like that, he headed upstairs, leaving me alone - for the second time today. I was suddenly alone, in the dark, in his living room, trying to come to grips with what just happened.

I pulled up in my driveway somewhere around 3:15am. I don't even remember the drive home. I felt like a zombie. I went inside and threw my bag and keys down on the table and headed straight upstairs. After a quick change back into my pajamas, I threw myself face down on my bed and screamed "HUNTER KISSED ME!" into my pillow.

The next morning, I woke up wondering if last night really happened, or if I had dreamt it. The pile of clothes on my bedroom floor - which were in fact the ones that I wore to Hunter's last night - told me that it wasn't a dream; it really happened.

"OH MY GOD! HUNTER KISSED ME" I screamed again. 'Now what?' I thought.

_(continued...)_


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Even though I had so much that I should've been doing - considering I was getting married in 6 days - I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed. Luckily my mom was taking care of the wedding planning since I had enough to focus on with work and packing up my house. Instead of doing anything productive, I just kept replaying everything that happened last night with Hunter over and over again in my head. I still couldn't believe that Hunter had kissed me like that.

My feelings were ping ponging everywhere on the emotional spectrum. I went from feeling mad, to shocked, guilty, nervous, and eventually even a little giddy as a faint smile appeared across my face when I thought about how I felt with Hunter's lips scorching mine. Hunter did everything with such passion, and his kissing was no exception. He sure knew how to make a woman feel incredible, and I knew it first hand from experience. And somewhere in the midst of everything, my mind wandered back 3 years to the amazing night we spent together. I pulled up the covers up to my neck and lost myself in the memory.

I spent a little time daydreaming, and then brought myself back to reality. Having Hunter kiss me and profess his love for me was everything I had ever wanted, but the timing couldn't be any worse. I was feeling very conflicted and couldn't believe the irony of the situation. I had spent _years_ alone, with Hunter _platonically_ by my side, and now I suddenly found myself with 2 men competing for my heart. In fact, I was alone just last week! It was no wonder why they didn't really like each other, and I also realized that Alex had been right when he blew up Friday night over what Rick had said to him. It had been more than I realized, when Hunter told him that he loved me.

'Follow your heart' - those were some of the last words that Hunter said to me. I kept hearing him repeat them over and over again in my head. Too bad I didn't exactly know what my heart was telling me anymore. I had suddenly found myself at a crossroads.

For as long as I could remember, I had envisioned myself as a wife and a mother, and here was Alex who was willing to give me both of those things. And, Alex is a Doctor; he has a safe job. I wouldn't have to ever worry about losing another husband to a bullet. He was the safe option. Rick, on the other hand, he was a cop and there was always that risk. He had a dangerous job, and let's face it, so did I, so I couldn't begrudge him for it. It's who he was; a fearless man who would risk any and everything for something he believed in. I guess he believed in us. He took a big risk by admitting his feelings for me. He put everything on the line by telling me. He may have believed in us, but in what capacity? Hunter was definitely a Cassanova-type, and never had a long-term relationship in the 6 years that I have known him. I didn't know if he ever wanted marriage, and based on a conversation we had 5 years ago, I didn't think he wanted kids either. Me on the other hand, I wanted those things, and truth be told, I'm 33 years old. I'm not getting any younger and I could hear my biological clock clicking, and it was getting louder with each passing day. But, with Rick, there was the passion. I never felt passion in such a way before. When Rick kissed me, it was like time stood still. Nothing else mattered. When we slept together, it was the most magical night of my life. But, he was the reckless option. I had suddenly found that both my heart and my head were competing for control. I felt my head telling me to marry Alex, and my heart was dangerously close to throwing caution to the wind and telling me run to Rick – even though with Rick, there were no guarantees. I was lost, and there was no one I could really talk to about it, and time was running out.

**Monday** **morning**

The rest of the weekend was a blur and before I knew it, it was already Monday morning. Even though I had no business doing so, I had spent most of my Sunday in bed. I was tired from the night before and stressed out over everything that happened with Hunter. I was genuinely confused about my feelings, and it didn't help matters that I didn't hear from Hunter at all yesterday, even after I called and left him 2 messages. It would have been 15 messages if I counted the 13 other times I tried calling him, but hung up before the answering machine came on. I knew he had a family thing in the afternoon, but I thought that he would have at least called me back after he got home, but he didn't.

I was so thankful that my mom graciously offered to handle the wedding planning since I had enough going on. With the exception of a quick visit with the seamstress for my measurements for my dress, I left the rest of the details to my mom. I can't believe I am getting married in 5 days, and after Saturday night's events, I already sort of felt like an adulterer.

I rolled into work early, at around 7am, mostly because I couldn't sleep last night, and the other part of me wanted to get in before Hunter did. For some reason, I wanted to be there first and tie up some loose ends before he came in. I reasoned with myself that it would somehow be better if I was there first, even though I didn't know why that would be the case. My heart and my mind were racing. I was extremely nervous and anxious to see him and I couldn't focus on anything else. We didn't leave things too well between us on Saturday night, and hadn't talked at all since, and I really wasn't sure how today was going to pan out.

Hunter strolled in at a few minutes before 8am and proceeded to sit down at his desk without so much as saying a word to me. That was a first. He had never done that to me before. This was the beginning of the end, I thought.

"Hey." I offered as a way to break the ice.

"Hey." He said back to me, evenly, while sorting through the stack of manila folders on his desk. Never once did he make eye contact with me.

It had suddenly become very chilly in the precinct, which was quite something considering it was already about 80 degrees outside. I decided to just leave him alone for now. Obviously he wasn't ready or willing to talk to me just yet, and this wasn't exactly the best place to do so anyway, so I decided to just let it go.

About 30 minutes later, Hunter hastily got up from his chair, grabbed his jacket and walked over to my side of the desk. "I'm gonna go and see Sporty and then follow up on a couple of our leads on Collins."

"Do you want me to go with you?" I asked, even though I already knew what his answer was going to be.

"No, its ok. You stay here and catch up on paperwork. I'll fill you in later."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Besides, I'm sure you've got enough to do, and you probably need to clean out your desk too, right?" His expression showed a hint of sadness even though he was mainly trying to hide it under a tough exterior.

"Ok." I said reluctantly with a sigh. "Can we talk later?"

"Later? I can't. I have plans tonight. I'll try to be back before you leave today, if not, we'll talk tomorrow."

He smiled faintly and just like that he was out the door, and I was left to tackle a mountain of paperwork on my own. This was definitely very strange to me. We always did everything together. I knew our days as partners were numbered, but I didn't expect our 6 years together to come to a screeching halt like this. This was not at all how I wanted our partnership to end.

I spent the day at my desk finishing up about dozen reports, and before I knew it, it was 5pm and there was no sign of Hunter. Suddenly my desk phone had rung, and it was him. He apologized for not getting back in time and reminded me that he had dinner plans tonight, and that we'd catch up tomorrow. 'Dinner plans?' I thought to myself. I wonder with whom? I sensed that it was with a woman, since Hunter never really made 'dinner plans' with the guys, but I didn't know for sure. In fact, it wasn't too long ago that his dinner plans usually included me, so this was definitely odd to me. I was starting to hit me that I was already on the outs. Even though I had no 'right' to be upset, the thought of him having dinner plans with another woman, infuriated me. Wow, he had moved on just like that, didn't he? I thought to myself as I felt a twinge of sadness come over me.

I left the precinct and drove myself home. I was in a fog. Once I got home, I threw all of my stuff down on the coffee table and headed for the kitchen. I opened the freezer and thankfully found a meal from one of my 4 favorite food groups and popped it into the microwave. I grabbed a bottle of pinot from the fridge and poured myself a hefty glass of it and sat down at the kitchen table with my head in my hands.

My thoughts were still all over the place, and I wasn't sure what to do anymore. I thought I was happy with Alex and despite the whirlwind that the past week and a half was, it was what I wanted – marriage and the promise of children one day. But, Rick had suddenly thrown a monkey wrench into everything with his confession and with that kiss – which I couldn't seem to get off of my mind. He was giving me something else to think about, and boy was I thinking about it! Although, based on today's events I wasn't so sure how he felt anymore. While I could admit to myself that I did love him, I couldn't seem to get past the fact that he waited so long to tell me how he really felt. Didn't he know how I felt 3 years ago? Couldn't he tell? Or, what about 3 months ago, when I invited him in for a 'coffee and whatever else happens' do-over? Couldn't he at least tell then? He wanted nothing to do with me then, so why now? What changed? As much as I was perplexed over what might be going on in his head, I still couldn't figure out what was going on in mine.

I felt like Rick was avoiding me like the plague. The fact that it had been 2 full days and I still hadn't been able to talk things out with him was making me feel very unsettled. I didn't have much time to figure things out. I knew that he was out tonight and that really bothered me. Why was I bothered by him going out? He's entitled to live his own life, just as I am entitled to live mine. The reality was, I was leaving in a few days - 6 to be exact - and then we'd both be off living our own lives, apart from each other, every day. It was really starting to hit me that everything was going to change completely. I was losing grip on everything that was mine, and soon I would have a brand new life, with a brand new husband, in a brand new house, in a brand new country. I looked around at my house, my walls, my furniture, and suddenly it hit me that everything that I knew was soon going to be just a memory. I felt like I was suffocating, and I wanted to throw up.

_(continued….)_


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

After another sleepless night, I got to work bright and early again, this time with even more knots in my stomach than the day before. Much like yesterday, Hunter strolled in around 8 and I already had my nose buried in my reports. I was mostly trying to appear busy in an attempt to distract myself and to help keep my emotions in check. I was sick to my stomach about everything and I felt the distance between Hunter and I growing by the second. I didn't like how this was feeling at all. I truly felt like I was losing him completely, and that terrified me.

Much like yesterday, Hunter and I were split up for most of the day, but somehow the day managed to pass quickly. Alex was due back to LA tomorrow, so I needed to be able to talk to Rick tonight. It was my last opportunity to be able to talk to him alone.

We finished the day at work, and he agreed to meet me at my house for dinner at 7. I wasn't sure how our conversation would go, so I didn't want to risk being out in public and having a breakdown. I was in no mood to cook, so I summoned another food group and ordered us some Italian take out. He knocked on my door right at 7pm, and we sat down at my kitchen table.

"Hey, I'm glad you could make it." I said as I greeted him at the door.

"Yeah, me too." He said with a smile and handed me a bottle of wine. 'Yup, I'm gonna need that,' I thought to myself.

"I haven't seen too much of you the last few days" I said with a laugh, "I was starting to forget what you look like."

Hunter laughed at my comment, but I could feel that there was still some tension between us. I decided to start off with some small talk before getting into the topic of "us." So, we talked for a while about our cases, Peterson's murder case, and our families…anything but the 'big white elephant' in the room.

We polished off about half of our meal and three-quarters of the bottle of Riesling before I mustered up the courage to bring up the very reason why I had asked him to come over. "About the other night..." I started.

"Look, before you say anything, I want to apologize to you. I never should have kissed you like that. It was wrong of me to do that to you considering you are engaged to someone else. My emotions got the best of me and I'm sorry. It was a mistake." Hunter said before I was able to even utter another word.

'A mistake?' My heart sank when I heard him say those words. It might have not been 'appropriate' given the circumstances, but I knew that I didn't regret it even though I probably should have. I was growing more and more confused by the second.

"What do you mean a mistake? Were you not being honest with me about your feelings? I've spent the last 3 days trying to make sense of all of this. What are you saying, Rick?"

"All I'm saying is that you are already spoken for. It wasn't right of me to do that to you and to put you in an awkward position like that. It seems as though you are happy with Alex and he's offering you the life that you want, and I don't want to stand in the way of that."

"So, that's it?" I said half angrily and half surprised as I got up from the table and turned my back to him. This was not going at all how I thought it would. I turned back around to look back at him. "You said all of that to me Saturday night and now you're just going to walk away like none of it ever happened?!" I paused for a moment to look him in square in the eyes. I felt dangerously close to tears, but somehow I managed to plow through and ask him the one question that I needed an answer to more than any other question in the world. "Rick, can you give me _any_ reason in the world why I shouldn't marry Alex?"

Rick looked up at me and remained silent for a minute before speaking. I felt like I lived a lifetime in that minute. "No. I can't." He said as his eyes hit the table. He couldn't even look at me when he said those words.

"You can't?" I asked, rhetorically. My voice started to tremble and my eyes began to water. I couldn't understand what was happening. It was suddenly like the other night meant nothing to him and I had spent the last 3 days so torn up over it. I was growing as angry as I was confused.

"Look, Dee Dee, I'm a cop. This is who I am and who I will always be, and I know you don't want to end up with cop again."

"So, that's it, huh? After _all_ you said to me Saturday night, you're just going to let me go?" I was on the verge of tears and I was starting to realize that maybe I didn't want him to let me go. I suddenly found myself heartbroken.

"I think it's for the best, don't you? I don't want to be the reason that you don't have the life that you want. If you love Alex, then you should be with him. I shouldn't have tried to come between you two, and I am so sorry. I know you both have a history together and if you're happy and want to be with him, then you should marry him. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Wow." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was starting to wonder if I really had dreamt it all.

"Wow, what?"

"I'm just surprised and I don't know what else to say. It's - it's like you did a complete 180 from Saturday night. On Saturday you told me you loved me and then you kissed me _like that_ and now you are telling me that it was _a mistake_ and that I should marry Alex?! I just don't get it, Rick." I paused for a moment to collect myself. "Are you saying….that… you didn't feel _anything_ with that kiss?" I searched his face for a response, but wasn't really getting one, so I continued, confessing my feelings and laying it all out on the table. I had nothing to lose at this point. "I know that I felt something, and that's exactly why I am so confused about my feelings for you and my feelings for Alex!"

"I _did_ feel something Dee Dee! I meant what I said, but I will step aside because I want you to be happy and have everything that you want out of life. I know you don't want to be a street cop's wife again."

"Rick, this just doesn't make any sense. Do you hear what I am saying to you?"

"This is hard for me Dee Dee. I don't want to rip you away from a life that you want, and have you resent me for it later on. We've never even tried this "relationship" thing between us, so who knows if it would even work out. We've been partners and best friends for years. Maybe we are better off just leaving it like that. This way, there are no hard feelings and we'll still always be friends and a part of each others lives."

"Is that what you really want? Be honest with me." I pleaded with him with tears in my eyes.

"Dee Dee, it doesn't matter what I want, what matters is what _you_ want. You need to follow your heart and do what's right for you. I don't want to cloud your decision in any way. I just want you to be happy. Do what makes _you_ happy."

"What I want, huh?" I got up from my chair and turned and walked in the other direction so Rick couldn't see me as tears rolled down my face. "I used to know exactly what I wanted, but now I just don't even know anymore."

Rick got up and grabbed my arms in an effort to console me, but I shoved him off. I could see it in his face that he was getting upset too.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come by. I should never have said anything to you on Saturday. I am sorry that I upset you like this. I never meant to hurt you."

I looked him in the eyes and I could see that he was hurting, and even though he was trying his best to do what he thought was the honorable thing here. I really didn't think that he meant it. His lips may have been saying one thing, but his eyes were saying another, and just looking at them made me start to feel weak. I was dangerously close to falling into his arms because something was telling me that he wanted me there, and something was telling me that I wanted me there too.

"Rick, no. I'm glad that you were honest with me. But why did you wait so long to tell me?" I said with tears in my eyes. "Didn't you know that I felt the same way?"

"You never said anything."

"Did I really have to?" I paused, and when I realized he wasn't getting it, I continued. "_that_ _night_…"

"Oh."

"I didn't think I needed to explain it to you. I thought you knew me well enough to know that I don't just sleep with anyone."

"I know. But, you left for 6 weeks. We never talked about it then, or even when you came back. At the time, I thought maybe you regretted it and wanted to forget it happened, so I let it go."

"Rick, I could never regret that night. It was beautiful. You know that…."

"Yeah, it was." A faint smile appeared across his face as his mind must have flashed back to our night 3 years ago.

"So what do we do now?" I nervously asked even though I already knew what his answer was going to be.

"We finish our meal together, and we part as friends. And then you go off and marry the man of your dreams, move to London and have lots of babies." Rick said as another smile appeared across his face. "I am giving you my blessing, Dee Dee."

Over the next 2 hours, we finished our meals and another full bottle of wine. We laughed and reminisced about our days as partners. We sure had a great time together over the years, and a lot of funny stories to tell.

It was a few minutes after 11 when Rick grabbed his sport jacket and car keys and headed for my front door. He grabbed both of my hands and looked me in the eyes. "Thank you for dinner tonight, Dee Dee."

"You're welcome." I smiled faintly.

"I'm really going to miss you, Dee Dee. Alex is a very lucky guy. Make sure you tell him I said that."

"I will. Thank you."

We hugged for a couple of minutes and I realized in that moment that I felt at peace. He pulled back and kissed me on the forehead and then turned and headed out the door.

"Goodnight, Dee Dee."

"Goodnight, Rick."

I closed the door behind him and then plopped down on the couch, replaying everything that had happened tonight in my head. I had this agonizing feeling that something was definitely off with everything he said to me tonight. "His blessing?" I said aloud, sarcastically to myself. You don't spend 6 years day in and day out with someone and not be able to read them like a book. Rick Hunter was full of shit, and I knew it.

_(continued...)_


End file.
